BANGOR, Maine — A Connecticut woman has embarked on a coast-to-coast road trip in an electric vehicle.
Daphne Dixon stopped in Bangor Saturday to speak with people about her trip and the benefits of driving electric.
It's Daphne Dixon’s third annual trip, aiming to test and improve access to electric vehicle charging stations across the country.
Over the next month, Dixon is traveling 4,000 miles from Norwalk, Connecticut to Tacoma, Washington to increase awareness and accessibility of electric vehicles.
"Our goal is to really look at the user experience, identify any challenges and barriers people might be having, and to provide solutions to those barriers," Dixon said.
Some of those barriers at charging stations are a lack of lighting and cover, and drivers' proximity to stations.
Dixon is conducting an analysis of each charging station along the way to determine what zoning regulations can help the user experience. Then, she'll be sharing her recommendations with each city and town's leaders.
"By defining what an ideal charging experience is and working towards that, it'll be much easier for people to feel comfortable driving electric vehicles," Dixon said.
Dixon stopped in Bangor on her road trip for the first time as Bangor and cities across Maine are expanding their EV charging stations.
The State of Maine is working to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road to 219,000 by 2030.
"So you've seen a significant increase since 2020," Jon Gagne, co-director of the Maine Clean Communities Coalition, said.
Maine Clean Communities joined Dixon to educate people in Bangor about electric vehicles.
Gagne works with local communities to help them transition to electric vehicle use and lower their carbon emissions.
"Change is really challenging but electric vehicles offer lots of great benefits to drivers: lower emissions reductions, lower operating costs, lower maintenance costs, and they're just fun to drive," Gagne said.
Bangor resident Ken Doirin came to learn more about electric vehicles. He said he loves driving his hybrid car.
"It's quiet and I don't have to buy gas, you know, it's like, 'Oh have you seen the price of gas lately?' Not really, I haven't because I don't put gasoline in the car," Doirin said.
Doirin said he’s interested in an upgrade.
"Probably in the not-so-distant future we're going to buy a full electric," he said.
Dixon's next stop is Acadia National Park, and she will be concluding her EV journey on August 21.